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Campaign Archive: (Feb 05 to present)
Campaign Goals: 1. Create a deadline for action Ban the sale of incandescents by specific dates Ban 60W + 100W incandescents first (bayonet + screw) Ban other incandescent designs later 2. Remove the price advantage of incandescents Increase the cost of incandescent light bulbs Reduce the sales tax (VAT) on CFLs from 17.5% to 5% 3. Help the poor Help the poor to replace their incandescents Help the poor to save money on their energy bills 4. Encourage responsible recycling Encourage the responsible recycling of CFLs Encourage fair + adequate funding for recycling Encourage discussions amongst recycling stakeholders 5. Encourage + strengthen supporting legislation Include light bulbs in the EU's Eco Directive Explain the pros + cons of the EU's RoHS Directive 6. Propose appriopriate exemptions Make the case for appropriate medical and specialist exemptions 7. Encourage continued innovation Propose that technology neutral "watts per lumen" criteria should be included in ban legislation Propose "watts per lumen per m2" as further criteria Highlight promising technologies as they emerge 8. Encourage energy efficiency and conservation Explain the benefits of greater energy efficiency Explain the benefits of turning things off Accelerate the uptake of available technologies 9. Use LEDs to set energy performance standards LEDs offer a 90% energy saving CFLs offer a 65-80% energy saving High efficiency incandescents offer a 25% saving Incandescents offer 0% energy saving Banning incandescent light bulbs would... Save 2 to 5 Million tonnes of CO2 per year in the UK Save 23 to 53 Million tonnes of CO2 per year in the EU Global Energy Use: Thanks to...OilPrice.com Links: BBC "Green Room" 3 Feb 06 Light bulbs: Not such a bright idea Comments BBC "Green Room" 21 April 06 Shedding light on call to ban bulb Comments BBC "Green Room" 20 Oct 06 Where have all the leaders gone? Comments BBC article 29 Jun 06 Lighting the key to energy saving IEA : Lights Labour Lost report BBC article 2 Nov 06 Bulbs must be efficient by 2009 BBC "Green Room" 19 Jan 07 The need for ambition + imagination Stern Review: Summary Guardian article 1 Feb 07 Should I replace incandescents now? Worldwatch: Effects of WEEE Directive BBC article 31 Jan 07 Plan to ban light bulbs... in California Nine MSN article 20 Feb 07 Plan to ban light bulbs... in Australia BBC article 20 Feb 07 Australia pulls plug on old bulbs Courier Mail article 21 Feb 07 See the light Turnbull EurActiv article 21 Feb 07 How many EU members does it take to change a light bulb? Guardian article 22 Feb 07 Should we ban these bulbs? Scotsman article 24 Feb 07 How many light bulbs does it take to change the world? Daily Mail article 10 Mar 07 EU switches off our old light bulbs BBC "Green Room" 16 July 07 Sex sells, but at what cost? The Guardian article 27 Sept 07 UK to phase out 150W, 100W + 60W bulbs The Guardian article 27 Sept 07 Ban The Bulb? International Light Bulb Campaigns 18 Seconds (US) Greenpeace India : BTB petition (India) www.banthebulb.co.uk (UK: unaffiliated) Campaigns One Watt Initiative (IEA) One Billion Bulbs (US) Big Green Switch (UK) Eco Portal Eco Earth Info (US) References Homestayfinder: How CFLs work MPs' Letters: EU light bulb rules Wikipedia: Ozone Depletion EU: Kyoto Protocol Lighting Industry Federation >LIF: Lamp Guide 2001 pdf UK Climate Change Programme >UK CCP: Review pdf UK Market Transformation Programme ECCP Report 2001 pdf European Lamp Companies Federation DTI: WEEE Directive Energy Saving Trust GE: Soft White Dimmable CFLs Cubans + Jamaicans hand out free CFLs ELCFED FAQs Lighting Advice Energy Saving Trust Lighting Bulb ratings Lighting choices Low energy fittings Save Your 20% Customer Utility Services Light bulb suppliers lightbulbs.co.uk Just LED Direct Trade Supplies Light Rabbit Light Rabbit : Commercial AVR LED Track Lighting Bulb Buddy Energy Bulb Synergy Lighting USA (USA) Express Light Bulbs LED Light Bulbs LED Lighting Supplier eco LED Light E-Leds EcoPal (Ireland) LED Lights LED Tape Eco St LED Eco Lights Light Bulb Planet Green Led LineLite First Light Direct Lamps On Line UltraLEDS (UK) LiteBulbs Bright Green Technology (signs) Eco Friendly Light Bulbs Go Green Lights (UK) Energy Saving World (UK) Light Bulbs Direct (UK) Better Generation (UK) Efficient Light (UK) Ultima (UK) Megaman (UK) Amazon.Com (US) The Bulbman (US) LED Online [LEDs] (UK) OptoSource [LEDs] (UK) CyberLux [LEDs] (US) Androv Medical (UK) BestBulb (UK) The Light Bulb (UK) Solar Solar Power Centre (UK) Intelligent Energy Solutions (UK) Solar Insiders (UK) Solar Gadget Store (UK) Select Solar Panels (UK) Energy Saving Advice Conserve Energy (UK) Intelligent Energy Solutions (UK) Solar Security Solar Security Solutions (UK) Energy Company Advice Good Energy Shop (UK) Home Energy Generation / Storage Cyber Energy (UK) Low carbon technology sites The Solar Centre (UK) Price comparison sites Business Electricity Prices (UK) Business Gas Prices (UK) USwitch: Business Energy (UK) Home Advisory Service (UK) UK Power (UK) Business Gas (UK) Business Electricity (UK) Solar Price Comparison Services Talk Solar Panels (UK) Talk Solar Boilers (UK) Solar Quote Provider (UK) Solar Lighting Lux Outdoor Ligting (UK) The Eco Experts (UK) http://www.theecoexperts.co.uk Light bulb history An overview 1809 Humphrey Davy (Arc lamp) 1820 Warren De la Rue (vacuum + wire) 1879 Edison and Swan (carbon + cotton) 1880 Edison (carbon + bamboo) 1898 Karl Auer (osmium) 1903 Siemens/Halske (tantalum) 1906 to 10 GEC/William Coolidge (tungsten) Fluorescent light and lamp history 1857 Becquerel (fluorescence) 1901 Cooper Hewitt (mercury vapour lamp) 1934 Germer (high pressure lamp) 1970s Anderson + Hollister (electrodeless) 1976 Edward Hammer (spiral lamp) Mercury + Fluorescent Lights Efficiency Vermont Michigan Dept. of Env. Quality Energy Efficiency Advice EU Energy Label Refrigeration Laundry Dishwashers Boilers Insulation + Windows Find recommended products (UK) Generate your own energy General advice Solar Photovoltaics Solar water heating Heat pumps Small scale wind Small scale hydro Biomass Press coverage The Guardian 7 Dec 05 BBC News Online 'Green Room' 3 Feb 06 BBC Radio 4 'Broadcasting House' 5 Feb 06 Austrian Broadcasting Corp. 7 Feb 06 BBC Radio Wales 8 Feb 06 BBC News Online 8 Feb 06 The Hindustan Times editorial The Guardian "Campaign O.T.W. " 21 Feb 06 BBC Radio Essex 22 Feb 06 Interesting energy ideas... Option 10 (UK) Light Up The World (Can) TVEC.org (UK) Downshifting Path (UK) Cent. for Alt. Tech. (Wales) Patio Heaters Are Evil (UK) NGOs Friends of the Earth Greenpeace International Natural Resources Defense Council New Economics Foundation WWF Renewable Energy Businesses Select Solar Solar Century Climate Change Carbon Trust Climate Stability 2005 DEFRA Hadley Centre IPCC Met Office Pew Centre Tyndall Centre UK Energy Research Centre UNFCCC Reports National Audit Office > report Environmental Blogs Alternative Energy Blog Dangerousmeta! Earth Blog Earth Info Energy: Action Envirotech George Monbiot Greenpeace Weblog Gristmill Mark Lynas Meta Efficient One Change Real Climate Rebecca Blood Sierra Club Scoop World Changing Ethical Expert © matt prescott
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Tuesday, August 27, 2013Guest Blog : The Evolution of the Light Bulb
Now that the era of incandescent light is drawing to a close, if feels like an appropriate time to consider the history of electric domestic lighting.
Here's a guest review article that has been submitted by Adam Stevens of Enviko specifically for Ban The Bulb about the evolution of the bulb.
........................................................
Light bulbs have been a vital piece of
technology which has been undervalued due to it's huge contribution to modern
life. It was first concocted in 1850 by Joseph W. Swan who began working on a
light bulb using carbonised paper filaments in that very same year.
Then in 1878 Thomas Edison, the person famous
for the light bulb, founded the Edison Electric Light Company. The year after
Swan began installing light bulbs in homes and landmarks in England.
After this breakthrough and homes were lit,
ductile tungsten was invented. This made light bulbs a lot safer and brighter.
The filament material started to be used as tungsten filament much like the
modern incandescent light bulb. This was manufactured by the General Electric
Company and William Coolidge in 1908.
As tungsten has a very high melting point it
can be heated to 3000°C to achieve a white hot glow providing a level of brightness
never seen before in a light bulb.
However, due to the high level of heat, these
bulbs did not last as long as previous versions, therefore a fix was conjured
up. This fix was to insert inert gasses such as nitrogen and argon into the
light bulb to reduce tungsten evaporation or sublimation.
These gases did reduce evaporation and
increase filament life, and they also carried heat away from the filament,
which reduced its temperature and brightness. Again, a fix was needed. The
boffins then came up with the idea to wind the wires into fine coils, again as
they are in modern incandescent filaments. This reduced convective heat loss
and allowed the filament to operate at the desired temperatures.
Nowadays, light bulbs have improved but are
still not energy efficient. Only four to six per cent of the electrical power
supplied to the bulb is converted into visible light. The other 94 per cent is
lost as heat.
Although, these light bulbs are now being phased out in many countries they were attractive to consumers for the following reasons:
●
Wide, low-cost availability
●
Easy incorporation into
electrical systems
●
Adaptable for small systems
●
Low voltage operation, such as
in battery powered devices
●
Wide shape and size
availability
Compact Fluorescent Lamps are a lot more
efficient than the outdated incandescent bulb as they give out the same amount
of visible light while using only one-fifth to one-third of the electrical
power, as well as lasting eight to fifteen times longer.
Due to their efficiency, the CFLs have a
higher retail price but do save a considerable amount which will save you more
than the retail price difference. They typically have a service life of 6,000
to 15,000 hours over the incandescent lights service life of 750 to 1,000
hours. And for LED lamps they can last up to 100,000 hours.
Europe has tried to implement a law that
requires people to switch over from incandescent lamps. This was the EU
guideline 244/2009 which will prohibit the production and import of less energy
efficient light bulbs by 2012. The UK had already implemented a law much like
this which has been working ahead of the EU law.
As a result of this standard filament bulbs
from 60W upwards have now been phased out and lower output bulbs were also
phased out in September 2012. Halogen spotlights will have to meet new minimum
efficiency standards from 2016.
LED Lamps use 90% less electricity that old-fashioned incandescents and within the next few years are likely to take a massive portion of the lighting sector due to their dimmable capabilities, colour range and falling prices.
What are your predictions for the future of
light bulbs? Tell us via email matt.prescott@gmail.com.
Posted 4:39 AM by Matt Prescott
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